romney versus ryan. the divorce. let's play hardball. good ij, i'm chris matthews in watch. why did he pick paul ryan for his running rate? certainly not for better or worse. mitt spends his days and night that he's out there acting all alone that he never hooked up with ryan in the first place. he acts like ryan's got no hold on him. but it's not the way it works. romney has slowly gotten the word that the voter out there thought the two had things worked out. that romney and ryan were in this together. they're not. romney is dying. he can't stand to be tide to ryan and all that budget cutting baggage of his. ryan is failing the taint of having a running mate who is

unwilling to stand with him. a conviction poll. so trouble in paradise. mitt is dying to be single again, we all know politic also makes strange bed fellows but the word is out that this pair are sleeping in separate rooms. first more new polling data that shows mitt romney trailing. according to a new fox news poll president obama leads romney by five points among likely voters nationwide. 48-43. the fox poll, highly significant there. let's go right now to howard on this question. it looks to me like this divorce papers are pretty much out there right now. all that you hear now is romney doesn't really want to be stuck in that little basement where they cut medicare. >> well, mitt romney was on the campaign trail today saying i have a little secret. i'm going to win pennsylvania. okay. he's not going to win

pennsylvania. >> that's the oldest state in the union. >> he's not going to win pennsylvania with powell ryan's profile on medicare or budget cutting or anything else. so if he's serious, that underscores how inconvenient paul ryan has become. mitt romney did not pick paul ryan because of his medicare or budget programs. he picked him because of his youthful necessary, the cultural appeal, because of what paul ryan himself calls the deer hunter cath lick that he is. that might sell in pennsylvania but the other stuff won't. and if we're going to be cutting medicare at some point, i think right now looking at these alternatives, they would rather have a democrat they know in a democrat than a republican from a party that never supported the program to begin with. >> let me go to joy on that. it seems to me that people who, once you get into your late 60s and early 70s, you have one primary care and that's what you're always talking about with

your friends. how's your health, how is it going. your social life in many ways is going to see the doctor. you have to survive. you want to see your kids and grandkids. you don't walk away from health. it's pretty hard to separate. >> the most remarkable thing when you go back and look at these state by state swing state polls, in florida or in wisconsin or in ohio or in iowa, the remarkable thing and the other thing that has choinged in terms of the demographics is that barack obama is now tied with mitt romney or beating mitt romney in the voters over 60. that is the group that is most skeptical of obama. he is now winning them over and it is only one reason for that, it is medicare. as much as i totally understand what howard was saying, there was no other reason to pick paul ryan other than his budget. he was not the governor of his state. he was his ideology. you picked him because you

wanted to tell the right that we're going to take your ideology and take it to main street and then he didn't want to do it. >> now that you've got into a little thought here about howard's thinking, my question to you, and it's a tough one, didn't he know that if he bought ryan, he was buying his deal? he was buying his cuts in medicare, his substitution plan for a voucher system. didn't he know that? how could he not know that? he's a deal maker? >> he immediately distanced himself. the mitt romney immediately distanced himself from the $700 billion in cuts that were part of paul ryan's immediate plans. they knew right away they had a problem. i think they picked him in spite of that. they picked him because he was young, because he was forceful. because yes, he was ideological, but typical mitt romney, who, for a business guy, doesn't always examine the details. i mean, i don't think they thought through the implications. they were goingtor the sizzle of the conservative without looking

at the details. >> just for a minute here. this is the mitt romney we all have problems in our thinking nobody is perfect, obviously. i think the problem with mitt romney is he wants all the advantages of a convings politician. he wants to be seen as one. but he isn't one. he's a practicigmaispragmaist. it came when paul ryan was booed at the aarp convention. >> the first step to a stronger medicare is to repeal obama care. because it represents the worst of both worlds. i had a feeling there would be mixed reaction, so let me get into it. it weakens medicare for today's seniors and puts it at risk for the next generation. >> well, he's not too popular there. and now we've got the polls to put concrete numbers behind the

boos. a new poll shows that medicare trails only the economy as the top voting issue in the swing states of florida, ohio and virginia. and among voters who say medicare is extremely important to their vote, obama swamps romney by, get this, 13 points. and when voters in those states were asked a similar question, whom they trust to deal with the medicare program, obama trumps romney in all the polls. in ohio he leads by 19, in florida, 15. in virginia, 13. other polls have shown president obama's advantage on medicare has grown significantly since ryan joined the ticket. so let's go back to this again trying to figure this out. he bought into a guy who was known primarily for his voucher plan. getting rid of medicare as we know it. you basically go to a doctor and the bills are paid by medicare. you can't beat a system like that joy-ann i don't think on this planet earth and have

something paid for. >> exactly. >> there's nothing like it. and why would anybody want to change it? nobody would want to change it. >> you know, chris, i think what's worse than that they tried to be too cute with it. people over 55 understand that their children are future seniors. they don't want to get rid of the program period. it's not that as long as you don't touch mine, seniors don't like the idea of changing the program not just for themselves but for their children and grandchildren. they want the program to stay as it is. we're going to put you in a room with a lion and not let him get to you. >> i agree with joy-ann. >> what it sends a message is we know this is unpalatable so we're going to keep you away from it and i agree. it's a line that's been used before. it's a line that's been drawn before. but it turns out not to work

politically -- it turns out not to work politically. >> i want to get to something. in the very first interview romney and ryan gave after ryan joined the ticket, bob sheath pointed out that ryan's budget plan could be trouble for romney. let's listen. >> there's no question your campaign has been trying to make this election a referendum on barack obama. now, some people are saying you are making it a referendum on paul ryan's budget plan. >> well, i have my budget plan, as you know, that i've put out. and that's the budget plan that we're going to run on. >> and again, this sunday romney had to distance himself from ryan's positions and assert that he's the man at the top of the ticket. let's listen. >> the president's cutting $716 billion from current medicare. i disagree with that. i would put those dollars back into medicare. >> mr. ryan has proposed something similar, almost

precisely the same number. >> he was going to use that money to reduce the budget deficit. i'm putting it back into medicare and i'm the guy running for president. >> what a miserable time he has. he put the guy on the ticket. >> i remember when this happened. when he put ryan on the ticket, a lot of democrats said okay, it's over. we've got it. and i was skeptical about that. when they said it. and i think a lot of us who like to hear intellectual debates about policy said great, bring it on. let's have a debate about the philosophy of government. down in florida, they don't care about the philosophy. they want the program. they like the program. don't mess with the program. >> let's go to something really big here joy. i like this guy so much. this is jim webb who's retiring as the senator from virginia. he's a democrat, but a different kind of democrat. remember when romney was saying there's the takers and the makers out there.

included among the takers are those people who have served us in uniform may have been dismembered in some cases. dealing with the injuries and wounds they suffered for the country. and they don't consider themselves takers exactly. >> governor romney and i are right about the same age. young guys. like millions in our generation, we came to adult hood facing the harsh realities of the vietnam war. 2.7 million in our age group went to vietnam. those young marines that i led so many years ago have grown older now. they've lived lives of courage, both in combat and after their return, where many of them were derided by their own peers for having served. that was a long time ago. they are not bitter. they know what they did. but in receiving veterans benefits, they are not takers.

they are givers in the ultimate sense of the word. >> joy, the whole thing. people should look it up on youtube. it is the most powerful speech, i heard it today. it's rifting. >> when i heard this last night, i thought to myself this is devastating for mitt romney. these two gentlemen are of the same age and you understand that the most seminal decision that had to be made by young men was whether to answer that call or whether to try to find a way to get out of the draft. and for those who supported the war but still didn't serve, that reminder is devastating for mitt romney among veterans. he didn't mention veterans nor did he mention our current fighting men and women in afghanistan in his acceptance speech in tampa which is a huge error which is doubly and triply amplified. >> if i were the democrats i would. >> the barack obama from the administration has been focusing on veterans. >> sure.

>> and this is a theme that runs through the administration. it's paying off now in many states, not just in the presidential race. >> and romney did the favor of not mentioning. >> it's going to be big all the way through. it's going to be a constins wenscy producingly in the favor of the democratic president. >> this rings from that great movie by oliver stone. they cheer when you go off to battle when you come back wounded you're not really one of them anymore. it's terrible. >> great conversation. thank you for joining us. claire mccaskill and todd akin. also four judges now in the supreme court, the next president could dramatically shift the balance of the court to the right or to the left. who do you want picking two or three new judges in the supreme

court. and celebrities weigh in on the 2012 race. >> what about my social security card? i've been using it for 70 years. >> no photo, no voto. i'm on to your shen an gans, if that is your real name. >> she is something. sarah silverman. how hollywood hopes to reignite. >> this is "hardball" a place for politics. ng, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone. if you think something's wrong... see your doctor. ask about gynecologic cancer. and get the inside knowledge.

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welcome to "hardball." after initially urging him to drop out. more an more republicans are endorsing todd akin. bond and other top republicans weeks ago urged him to get out of the race says r saying these comments were disqualifying. >> it seems to me, first of all, from what i understand from doctors, that's really rare. if it's a legitimate rape, the female bodies has ways to try and shut that whole thing down. >> that sounds like a crack pot there. after the deadline passed this week, the republicans have seemed to drop their denunciations. and now groups that vowed to never give him another penny are now hinting they're changing their course. as with every republican senate

candidate we hope todd akin wins in november. we will continue to monitor this race closely in the days of ahead. that legitimate rape comment is far from an anomaly. >> on the main stream priorities that matter to missouri, how does akin measure up? see for yourself. when asked about a plan that ends traditional medicare. >> this is a good idea. i voted for it. >> the minimum wage? akin wants to apolish it. >> i don't think the government should be setting the prices or wages on different things. >> making college affordable. akin compared the federal student loans program to stage 3 cancer. >> america has got the equivalent of stage 3 cancer of socialism. >> senator, i have followed politics my whole life and these

kinds of crockpots used to be the kind of people that were sort of side show in politics. how did he win a nomination to run for the united states senate, this guy todd akin with his views. >> it was a three-way primary, and the far right, very evangelical religious base of the republican part. the mike huckabee, rick santorum coalesced behind him and that was enough. >> he's back in shape here in terms of the establishment. he had this to say about your debating style. take a look. >> the first two minutes it was like somebody let a wild cat lose. so we went at it for about an hour. >> he said he was surprised how you attacked from every direction as if it was a debate

or something. and he said you weren't very lady like. >> she was very aggressive in the debate which was quite different than the way she was, she had a confidence and was very much more sort of ladylike in the debate that we had friday she came out swinging. and i think that's because she was threatened. >> tonight he's used the word ladylike he said it was the same thing as calling the thing as a gentleman. i was using them just items or terms. did it strike you as a bit yesterday in sexist in the old-time version where women are treated as somehow frail and they should act like they're frail and fragile and they shouldn't get rough and tough even when it's a fight for the united states senate? what did you think? >> well, you know, i was

speechless. i'm a former courtroom prosecutor, chris, and i want to be strong and informed and i fight for missouri's middle class families. and todd akin is very extreme and i don't think he was prepared for me confronting him with things like him being one of the handful of people to vote against the child nutrition program and voting against a sex offender registry. this is somebody who does make michele bachmann look like a hippy. he is that far on the fringe. pointing those things out, i'm not sure that he was prepared for that. but i was polite and calm and i think that saying i was unladylike is a code word for that women shouldn't be strong and we should be more denks and i think that's probably what he was getting at.

>> i wish you would get a little tougher. look at the things he stands for. he wants to basically get rid of medicare. he's proud of that vote. and he wants to abolish the minimum wage. there's a lot of people out there who got their first job with the minimum wage. he wants to get rid of student loans. i had student loans all through college. i got a fellowship i was offered in grad school. a lot of us couldn't go to quality schools if we didn't have that kind of help. what's he talking about saying we've got to get rid of student loans calling it stage 3 cancer? what's he talking about? >> well, that's just it. it's not what he has said that is the problem. it's what he believes that is the problem. i don't think government is the answer, but chris, government is not the enemy. and even further yesterday, this was an amazing piece of tape that we will be happy to share with you for a later date. he actually said that he was against the equal pay act because he thought employers

should have the -- >> senator we have it. >> use freedom to discriminate. >> we're pretty good here. we got a hold of that. he was asked why he voted against the act and why he thought it was okay for women to be paid less for the same work as a man. here's his answer. you can respond. >> first of all, on making that particular distinction, i believe in free enterprise. i don't think the government should be telling people what you pay and what you don't pay. i think it's about freedom. if somebody wants to hire somebody and they agree on a salary, that's fine. how ever it wants to work. so the government sticking its nose into all kinds of things has gotten us into huge trouble. >> well he doesn't believe in the government requiring fairness in the workplace? is he against the civil rights bill for public accommodations where you can't close your bathrooms to black people? what kind of laws is this guy for? apparently nothing. >> i think you're probably on to

something there. >> it sounds like his principle is don't mess with business. >> the notion would be it is interfering with the freedom to say to them you can't discriminate against someone that is doing the same work just because they're a woman. we've had an outpouring of support in the last 48 hours. people are really jazzed up about the notion that i'm not ladylike. i am a fighter, chris. i'm proud to be a fighter for missouri families there's a lot at stake. >> did you ever have a defense attorney say to you you're not being ladylike there. you just did your job. >> good luck. >> you're qualified to be a senator and prove that this guy is not qualified for any position. thank you for joining us.

>> thampgs so much. >> up next stephen colbert tackles the latest cry from the right. we just had the fox poll that says obama is ahead by 5. this is "hardball" a place for politics. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about low-cost investing.

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i told you yesterday about the anger coming from the right on the recent polls on the presidential race. not everyone is willing to admit that president obama is leading mitt romney. stephen colbert weighed in. >> you can't trust polls, right fox news? >> the latest fox news polls give president obama an edge in three key swing states. once you isolate voters who are extremely interested in the election the race is much closer. >> romney is tide when you focus on the inexpressibly intrigued. and he's up by two points when you count only voters who are psychotically engaged. i've got my own source, dean chambers who analyzed these polls and reached the scientific conclusion that they just didn't look like. chambers' work throws all polls into doubt now. even the internal ones i've

taken of myself. the results say that i'm not that excited about mitt romney, but as a conservative i feel like i should love him. i mean, maybe the sample size is too small or maybe i checked the wrong box and i'm actually latino. it's not a good sign if the strategy just six weeks from election day is to bash the polls. and the first debate is next wednesday, but looking back to the gop primary debates for a moment, there were probably times when you heard a candidates' response, you thought could that really be true? >> this is one thing we know about barack obama, he has essentially handed over our interrogation of terrorists to the aclu. the cia has no form of interrogation for terrorists. the name bachman came up.

>> we had to have a self-imposed michele bachmann quota in some of those debates. >> he said later that the quota did not have an actual numerical value but focusing on all of her murky statements would overloud the debate story. next take a look at this fars. rural whites prefer ahmadinejad to obama. curious how you missed that one poll. anyway, guess where the headline originated? "the onion." america's favorite source for fake news. another "onion" today.

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i'm craig melvin, here's what happens happening now. a fifth person has now died in a shooting in minneapolis. a man opened fire on his colleagues killing himself at the scene. in august he pled guilty to the shooting rampage that nearly killed gabrielle giffords. the man who is accused of using more than a dozen aliases. now back to "hardball." this november, there's more at stake than who will occupy the white house. the president in office during the next four years is not the only issue. but for the next four or eight

years, it will be very likely that the next president will be appointing the supreme court justices who will be shaping the country's future for years and years ahead. and for that court it usually falls 5-4. there are four over the age of 70. over some point in the future the composition could change in the near future. the oldest is scalia is 76. the and kennedy is 76. and with me now is jeffrey toobin. i can only assume that this is one of the best written books of its kind because you are one great writer. i read the nine. i don't know how you managed to escape law school and become such a beautiful writer.

you make it fun and enjoyable to read without getting into jargon. i want you to be a tutor right now to the voter out there. not just women, gays or minorities. everyone who cares about civil rights cares about the country we live in. say romney wins two four-year terms. or president obama gets four more years. what's at stake in those periods of time for the country. >> does a constitution still protect a woman ace right to chose boorks. may congress regulate campaign spending at all or are we going to continue to deregulate campaigns like citizens united? will there be a barrier between church and state? those are just a handful of the issues. and the thing about the supreme court is you never know exactly what they're going to deal with, because who among us predicted that they would decide the 2000 election. they have the last word. that's what matters so much

about the supreme court. they have the last word on every important issue in the country. >> that brings me to, i'm indicting myself too, but how come none of us has really engaged on the stakes of the court appoint 789s. >> it's a great question. when you follow the campaigns, the topic rarely comes up. whoever the president is next, the likelihood is they won't have a complying congress, they won't be able to do much legislative activity. the main stakes center around who do they nominate if there is a vacancy in the court. and those are the most consequential decisions that the next president will make. but we don't talk about it for a variety of reasons, but it's a peculiar absence from this campaign dialogue. >> let's imagine that a wonderful person, ginsburg leaves the court and she's very

much beloved in this court. scalia, maybe he leaves. can a president on the left like obama or romney can they make a 18 180-degree switch? would that ever get passed a simple majority? >> the fact is most supreme court nominations get through. robert bork didn't get through in 1987. harriet myers withdraw. but by and large supreme court appointments get through. we have not seen a liberal replace a conservative in a very long time. maybe 1993, when byron white was replaced by ruth ginsburg. if for example one of the conservative justices leaves in a second obama term, that will be the world war 3 of all time. because the conservative

movement of this country has embraced their version of the constitution as a fundamental aspect of what they believe in. more than the democrats have, frankly. republicans talk about the constitution more than the democrats do these days. and if the balance could go from 5-4 republican to 5-4 democrat, the implications would be earth shaking. >> you know, sam, i think a lot of people have gotten, especially young people have gotten comfortable with ro roe v. wade and a lot of people think these landmark decisions like brown or the positive review of the civil rights act in '64 had to happen. i can imagine even under this court today the court we have right now saying no to the civil rights bill. i don't know which way roberts would go on a similar question. these issues are close right now. >> you know, it's complicated.

in one of the cases that could be considered is the voting rights act that could be overturned. affirmative action is going to be on the docket. it works both ways. there's a high chance that this court will here an appeal to doma. it could be the first court that establishes with respect to gay rights. even though the politics would suggest otherwise. so you know it works both ways and it's going to be curious to see not only which cases they pick up but in what manner they do it and how the arguments play out. again, doma could come up there and so could prop 8. so i'm curious to see how it plays out. i'm assuming jeff will be on top of all of it, too. >> how would roe v. wade be taken down? what would be the step to weaken it? >> we may see that sooner rather than later, because a lot of

states, a lot of the red states have imposed more and more restrictions on the right to abortion. whether it's longer waiting periods or establishing very ownow onerous rules for what facilities can do an abortion. the supreme court in 2006 upheld the so-called partial birth abortion law which restricted a certain kind of abortion. that is, i mean that's how it works. and ultimately, i mean, justice kennedy's opinion in that case really opened the door to even more restrictions. >> i like undue burden. i hope that survives. thank you, jeff toobin, your book's name is? "the oath." >> one thing i can predict right now, it is beautifully written and you're going to learn so much without knowing it was an effort. that's the great thing. you learn so much and it didn't seem like school. thank you.

you too, sam stein. up next, how hollywood is looking to put president obama over the top. no surprise there. get the people to vote at least. and this is "hardball." ing it d. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. ♪ [ sighs ] [ bird chirps ] [ bird squawks ] ♪ [ bird screeching ] ♪ [ elevator bell dings ] [ sighs ] how mad is she? she kicked me out. but i took the best stuff.

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[ laughing ] [ laughing ] [ laughing ] [ laughing ] ♪ you know a lot of these laws require you to have a state-issued id. but more than 21 million americans don't have driver's licenses. >> what about my social security card?

>> no vote o, no voto. >> she is so funny. that is sarah silverman. she and other celebrities like samuel l. jackson and steve carrell have been encouraging people to vote. >> mom, dad, the election is coming up soon. >> we're tired right now, go back to your room. >> sorry my friend. there's no time to snore. an out of touch millionaire has just declared war. we're all on our own if romney has his way. and he's against safety nets, if you fall, tough luck. so i strongly suggest that you wake the [ bleep ] up. >> there's something about the

way that these guys can do it and we could never do it. the sort of antihero types like sarah and samuel l. jackson. how do they connect with younger voters? >> you know, i'm not sure it's just younger voters. i think sometimes when i look at my audiences when i do stand up and i'm talking about these issues. i'm surprised i don't see a room full of people with purple foreheads from smacking themselves. when you sad raw language, it hits where it lives, and you add comedy to it and it's a home run. >> also joining us is joel stein. your thoughts why stronger language might motivate young voters. >> it's just fun. if you're not for obama, it's not going to convince you. but if you're already there and you need to be fired up to get to the polls or you feel like

i'm a sam jackson fan, this is my demo, i should be part of this. it's like any kind of branding. it remind you that's who you are you should get to the polls even if you are not quite as excite ds as you were four years ago. >> let's watch steve carrell. >> you vote because you care. and people should care. you should care. what's wrong with you? don't just watch the video. come on. what's wrong with you? go to our time.org to register to vote right now. if you didn't vote, i will probably show up at your house. and give you a smack. smack right across the ear. i'd box your ear. >> i have two concerns about people not voting. one is the people who are intimidated by these terrible photo id laws or they're indem

tated by people don't say no to yourself. the other people i worry about are people who are lackadaisical who think obama has it made or the other guy has it made and they don't have to vote. liz? >> i think that's right. and i think that, you know, they all use their personalities really well in these ads, and i think they also, they're really effective at saying, people talk a lot about this and say they're trying to find a solution where a problem doesn't exist and i think when you hammer that home, people take notice. you and i, chris, have more live children together than there has been voter fraud. that's how bad it is. >> here's my favorite. sarah silverman pointing out the common denominator. >> there are these brand new super. [ bleep ] laws which are presented as a way to prevent vote are fraud

but are in fact designed to make it hard for specific people to vote. black people, elderly people, poor people and students. i wonder what those demographics have in common. oh, yeah. they're probably going to vote for this guy. >> well, sometimes i think she is so great, joel. and lizz, is that really the person she was born or did she develop that wonderful personality of herself. she makes the point though. it is partisan. >> that is who she is and she and i are actually doing a video together that we're taping next week so you can look for that. >> i'll watch it intently. >> we're thick as thieves. >> okay. joe your thoughts about this? is it all one way? i think the vote or photo thing is voter suppression. but is it all true that you've got to get the -- are the republicans doing anything like this to get their team out, the romney people out? >> you haven't seen the clint

eastwood video? it's amazing. >> he's still my hero. bad night. we all have bad nights. anyway, here's another samuel l. jackson. the people who supported obama last time. he wants them reengaged this time. let's watch. >> i hate to break it to you, sis, but all politicians are the same. >> they're all the same? big brother, please. obama sent seals tomorrow bin lad laden's place. romney sent jobs overseas. that student loan overhaul will save you thousands of bucks. dude, wake the [ bleep ] up. >> how did they come up with that idea. how did they know that he would be perfect, joel? >> well, my friend wrote this book go the "f" to sleep and

samuel jackson did the aud combroe book so they both redid it except for obama. hearing sam jackson curse. >> thank you joel stein and liz when we return some predictions about the debates. "hardball." [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em!

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let me finish tonight with next week's first debate in denver. i think recommend any will take some hard shots. he may spend 90 minutes blasting away at the president. i think obama will play with him, parry the aassaults, block the blows. i think it will start slow with both men trying to be cautious neither being able to land a punch. then it will happen. romney will deliver what is clearly a rerehearsed moment, a sound bite. it will be something about obama not delivering on a promise. he says you do, but hasn't. he will expect the president to defend himself and what when he points to what he inherited from bush and romney will say he's not running against bush.

this will be his strategy. i suppose president obama knows this is all coming and is preparing to deal with it. a month ago all romney had to say was obama got his best. he got his stimulus, got his health care program and here we are. i think that might have nailed it. a month ago. but something's changed. it could have been something like bil . good evening and welcome to the ed show from new york. five days until the first debate. voter fraud is alive and healthy. we rip the cover over the voter suppression scandal. it's there. this is the ed show. let's get to work. >> we will win pennsylvania and take the white house. >> mitt romney and